Shipping-crate.



H. B.'KOPP. SHIPEING CRATE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23,1912.

Patented July 7, 19%

INVENTOR HENRY B.KOPE

ATTORNEYS HENRY s. Kora, or NEWYHAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

SHIPPING-CRATE.

Application filed November 23, 1912. Serial narsaiil.

To all whom it mag concern a Be it known that I HENRY B. ,Korr, a citizen of the'United tates, and a resident of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, haveinvented a new and Improved- Shipping-Crate, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to means for packing and shipping various articles of a perishable or breakable nature so as to provide a separate chamber or compartment for each article, whereby it may be properly protected from contact with a rigid Wall or with an adjacent article. p

More particularly the invention has reference to means or method of packing fresh pineapples which may havebecome substantially ripe before being gathered, whereby they may be shipped withsafety and whereby the highest .market prices are at tainable. The ordinary practice in the packing and shipping of pineapples is to pull them green and to pack them moreor less promiscuously in crates, each pineapple being subjected to the damaging contact between it and other pineapples or the walls of the crate. It is wellknown that fruit gathered green is not so wholesome and by no means of so delicious flavor as'the same fruit would be if allowed to remain on the plant undisturbed until substantially ripe.

The primary object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a means whereby substantially ripe fruit may be supplied to small dealers so that they may supply any particular demand for dili'erentsize'd fruit and yet dispose of a small consignment before the pineapples become overly ripe. To this end the invention comprehends a simple, cheap and convenient means whereby the grower or packer may satisfactorily pack different sizes of pineapples in the same crate so as to supply the class of dealers above referred to.

The invention includes or comprises a certain novel form of filler whose function is to provide individual compartments or cells for containing the separate articles, As is now the common practice, the filler for shipping crates consists of strips or pieces of suitable material interlocked and arranged at rightangles to each other, such Spccification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 7, 1914.

tice itis found that in many cases, espec ally where the contained article has considerable weight, each compartment is unable to support its article with the result thatthe wall of the partition sags on that side which has the slot, and consequently the articles directly opposite this part of the partition receive and arecompelled to sustain the weight of the superposed articles, generally causing loss and damage from breakage or bruising in case the contents should consist of fruit. j

7 Among the objects of the invention, therefore, is to overcome the foregoing objections by so constructing the filler that sagging of any of the walls will be prevented and each compartment will be enabled to sustain its own article or goods with the result that the articles or goods in the adjoining compartments will be relieved of excessive or damaging pressure.

. The foregoing and other objects of the invention will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the drawings forming a part of this specification in. which like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in all the views, and in whichs Figure lis a plan View of a crateindicating the nature of my improvement; Fig. Qyis a vertical longitudinal section of the same on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a detail perspective of a main partition adapted to subdivide a larger compartment into a plurality of smaller compartments or cells; Fig. 4 is a similar view of the same, the wings or walls being arrangedas in operative position; Fig. 5 is a viewcorresponding to Fig. 4-, but showing a slightly modified form; and Fig. 6 is a detached view of the clamp shown in Fig. 5.

Referring particularly to the drawings it will appear that the main partition comprises a pair of substantially fiat packing strips 10 and 11 of suitable size to conform to the main crate structure. As indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, said strips are adapted to be. put together in pairs and so secured by stitching or staples 12,.extend1ng along a median line. The operation of so securing the strips together naturally results in scoring the strips as at 13, whereby they are rendered sufliciently flexible along such line for them to assume the form or position shown in Fig. 4, and as shown in Fig. 1 they will therefore subdivide the main compartment into four substantially equal rectangular cells 14c. In the form shown in Fig. 3 a largequantity of such partition strips may be stored or shipped with facility.; Instead of the fastening means shown in Figs. 3 and t, the strips may be. cut and handled singly and the two cooperating strips held together at their "abutting lines I by means of clamps 12 of the character indicated in Figs. 5 and 6, one of such clamps lloe'ing preferablyapplied to each end of the In addition to the partitions l0 and ll, I employ any suitable number of side strips or braces 15, each of "said braces being formed from a single flat strip of packing material and having oppositely arranged "toimpact with the outer wall or from damage which might result fromsome outside:

Another object of the braces is to constltute a means to lock the free verinfluence.

tical-edges of themainp'artitions lOand- 11 from lateral displacement, it'being understood, of course, that such braces will be formed and keptby the packer on hand in'suificient quantities and in different sizes to enable him toproperly pack a crate for anyspecial order. A'still further object of the braces, therefore, is to use them in such sizes or widths-of edge flanges as to not only hold the partition edges in proper place, but alsoto form the cell of such size as to correspond to the particular piece offruitito be placed therein. I preferably proin Figilespec'ially; that is to say, each or vide braces 15 of varying Widths "whereby the braces for each compartment are so related to each other and to the packing strips that a narrower brace acts to hold or lock a Wider brace in position. By Way of ex- 1 planatio'n, it may be noted that] pineapples, 1 for instance, of the same Weight and quality, i may vary considerably in diameter, and henceit isfnecessary to provide means for} I varying the cross sectional'area of the sevj I name to this specification in the presence of eral cells. i r 1 The nature of the filler above describedi provides for its adaptation to the subdivi v sion'of cells or compartments as indicated;

any'of the main cells 14 maybe subdivided by means of smaller partition strips 10 and r 11, and in connection therewith will be used any. suitable number or arrangement of lat'eral'bracing members 15 as may be [required to accommodate smaller fruit or other articles which maybe desire'd to be 3 shipped in the crate either alone or in connection with larger articles. Having thus described iny intention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent I .1. The herein described v shipping crate coinpr'ising'a filler including a pair of vernecting said strips together along a median line with their Wings directed outwardly therefrom atv right angles to one-another, dividing themain compartment into four equal-rectangular cells, and means locking the free vertical edges of v the wings in proper position with respect to the rigid Walls. of the crategand serving aslateral v tically arranged partition strips, means concushioning members, said locking means comprising a plurality of flat brace mem bers having right angularly disposed flanges serving to space the flat membersfrom said rigidalls, and the flanges of the several members being of varying widths, substantiallyas and for the purposes set forth.

the combination with a main container hav. ing vertical Walls, of a fillerthere'for com- {prising a pair of vertically arranged packing'strlps, means connectingsaid str ps to each oth'er a'longa vertical median line, the

free edges of said strips being directed out- 2. In a crate'of the character set forth,

wardly from said line and 'each dividing the adjacent rigid'wall into two equal parts and said pair of strips forming a four substantially equal compartments, a plurality of packingbraces in each-compartment, each spanning the corresponding Wall part and spaced therefrom, the braces of each compartment being of various widths and serving to lock the'free edges of theivertical partition strips adjacent thereto. 1n fixed position and also serving to provide a cush ioning space adjacent the inner surfaces of said Walls, and other packing strlpsand packing braces associated therewith in the manner above described servingto subdivide one or more of the aforesaid compart- 'ments, substantially as set forth. In testimony whereof I have signed my r H. ESWEEZEY,

W. W. KELsnY. g

I Copies of this patent may be obtained for fivecents each, by addressingthe"Commiss1oner of Patents,

Washington, 1L0. 

